The lights are on
In May, we learned that Electronic Arts has essentially stopped publishing on Wii U. At that time, company spokesperson Jeff Brown didn't specifically cite a reason. Many assumed the move was related to sales, and late last week that suspicion was confirmed for one title.
Speaking to The Sixth Axis, Need for Speed: Rivals creative director Craig Sullivan stated that last year's Need for Speed: Most Wanted "didn't really sell that many, in terms of the Wii U market." Most Wanted also appeared on the PlayStation Vita, another platform that Rivals won't be appearing on.
EA developers have also stated that Frostbite 3, the engine powering the publisher's non-sports, next-gen games, isn't running on Wii U. While this statement was made months ago, given that no games are in development, it would seem that no further progress has been made to rectify that situation.
Battlefield 4, Madden 25, NBA Live 14, and FIFA 14, all skipped (or will be skipping) the Wii U this year.
[Source: The Sixth Axis]
Our TakeThe fact that Need for Speed: Rivals is skipping Wii U isn't surprising. The important thing here is that Sullivan put a fine point on the reasoning. EA does not currently deem Wii U development a worthwhile investment.
It's important to understand that if development cost is greater than likely sales, then publicly-held companies have a fiduciary obligation to not create that product. Nintendo absolutely must start incentivizing third-party publishing if it hope the Wii U to flourish.
I played the heck out of Most Wanted on my Wii U. I loved how the game played and the use of the game pad. It's sad that there isn't going to be another driving game on the Wii U for sometime. I agree that Nintendo needs to help promote development with 3rd parties. However the hopes that the console along with sales of 1st party games can no longer be solely relied upon. The install base is low so even with high attachment rate of games, what sort of profit vs. development cost are they looking to achieve?
I bought Most Wanted for both the Vita and Wii U. I'll be skipping it and all EA games this year even for Ps3 and Ps4.
As good as Need for speed most wanted was on my ps3, and I enjoyed the game very very much, I did not like the online experience as much.
So, this need for speed game I want to get it, but I am not sure I will be buying it day 1, since I am doing that with games that I will be playing online, extending the length of the game for me.
I like what I've seen in NFS rivals, it looks promising.
Reading LOZFAN1's comments in this this thread is hilarious. It's like he's trying to recruit for a war. I just hope he doesn't get upset at me even though I don't a Wii U. I do have a Wii though, with most of my games being third party titles, because I am of the rare breed who is tired of the predictable stuff Nintendo rarely puts out.